The North Hempstead Town Board was given a presentation Tuesday morning on Supervisor Jennifer DeSena’s $163.9 million budget.
The proposed budget, the second of DeSena’s administration, includes a 10% property tax cut and maintains town services and programs.
“I believe that in tough times, it’s the government’s job to do all we can to relieve the financial burden on residents,” DeSena said.
The supervisor thanked members of the budget team including Director of Finance Paul Wood, who is acting as the town’s interim comptroller, Director of Governmental Research Steven Pollack and Deputy Supervisor Joseph Scalero alongside town department heads.
Highlights of the budget Pollack spoke about included increases in the town’s general fund of 1.3 million and an increase in the town’s sales tax revenue, which will offset the decrease in the mortgage tax revenue.
Revenues for Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington and parks and recreation are set to increase by $214,000 and $100,000 respectively, Pollack said.
Expenses in the general fund are increasing by $2.6 million and 13 of the 18 divisions and departments in the town are increasing expenses due to more services, Pollack said.
In the town’s outside village fund, which covers services for residents who live outside incorporated villages, parking enforcement revenues are increasing by $212,000, Pollack said.
Council Members Mariann Dalimonte and Veronica Lurvey asked whether or not the revenue projections in the budget for Harbor Links are accurate based on the town negotiating a new management contract for the year.
DeSena said the agreement with the current operator, Arnold Palmer Golf Management, will be extended for the next year while the search for a new operator continues.
Town Board Democrats were critical of DeSena for not telling the other board members before the budget hearing that a tentative agreement with the town’s Civil Service Employees Association Unit–which accounts for 84% of town staff–has been reached.
Lurvey further asked whether or line items pertaining to the contract are accurate since it has not been finalized yet.
“Would it not be normal to let your town board members know as we’re heading into a town budget hearing that a tentative agreement is in place, supervisor,” Lurvey questioned DeSena.
The supervisor said in response the board will have a chance to approve the contract once it has been ratified by the CSEA.
Scalero also said the contract that expired this year remains in place until a new one is voted in by the town board and this tentative budget is based on the expired contract.
“We’ve been working for 10 months on it, the process is that you have to come up with an agreement for the collective bargaining agreement, their members then have to have it presented and ratify it,” Scalero said. “It’s a legal proceeding. Then it comes to the town board.”
Democrat Council Member Robert Troiano said DeSena was irresponsible to have the union ratify a contract that the town board may potentially reject. Troiano added that government protocol calls for informing board members of the general terms of any potential agreement before it is ratified.
“We can’t see what the fiscal implications are down the road,” Troiano said. “To ask us to approve a budget where we don’t know what’s in it is beyond the pale.”
The North Hempstead Town Board will be holding a public hearing for the tentative budget on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. and voting on the final budget on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
